Asphyxia
by c-bellz
Summary: Theia Nolan was an anomaly. Born in space with only one lung, she had spent her life up on the Ark waiting to die from asphyxiation. That is until she's sent to the ground. Because Earth means oxygen. And after 17 years of narrowly avoiding death, she is willing to do whatever it takes to survive. Unless it involves listening to Bellamy Blake, that is.
1. Prologue

I was born in space, on board the Ark station, with the rest of what used to be the Earth's population. Everyone had their problems with the Ark and the strict rules enforced there, but it allowed us to survive.

Well, most of us.

For people like me, it was kind of the opposite. And when I say "people like me", I really just mean me. Because I was the exception, the defection, the anomaly that shouldn't have happened but did.

On September 22nd, 2131 at 8:33 am Maddie Nolan gave birth to a little girl missing her right lung (that's me). At 11:33 am the council was involved in a debate on whether I would live my (estimatedly short) life or die a peaceful asphyxiated death. Oxygen was already in low supply for the thousands living on the Ark, they couldn't afford to ration out extra for one unfortunate child. Even if the mistake _had_ been the Ark's fault, for not picking up on the fetus defect during all of the prenatal tests they required. It was sad, but sacrifices needed to be made in order to maintain survival.

At 11:52 my fate was sealed, a newborn baby sentenced to execution. At 12:01 my fate was redecided, as Doctor Abby Griffin stepped in. Being 8 months pregnant herself, she refused to let them float a child who had been alive for less than 24 hours. She convinced the council to let me live for however long I might have up in space, assuring them that it was very possible for me to survive without any special treatment aside from medication they could easily spare.

They hooked me up to a ventilator and checked the rest of my vital signs to see if I'd even last the rest of the week. My parents waited three days to name me. I mean, once you name something it basically solidifies the attachment, and why get attached to a baby you might not even get to keep? When they did name me, they chose Theia, after the medicine prescribed to "save" me, Theophylline.

It's supposed to help open up air passages in the lungs, making it easier for me to breathe and get enough oxygen. The ironic part was that I myself never opened up to anyone. Guess there isn't much power in a name after all. The medicine kept me alive, but barely. Each breath was a struggle, and my earliest memories are filled with my parents giving me the kind of looks reserved specifically for a dying child; a mixture of pity and agonizing grief.

The Ark was humanity's salvation, and my suffocation.

My body would not quit though, pumping whatever little oxygen it could get through my system. I was a sick child, but I was a living and breathing one. I continuously defied all odds, much to everyone's surprise. Especially my parents. They had been mentally and emotionally preparing for me to die. They had also been physically preparing for me to die.

By trying to have another child in my absence. And succeeding.

My mother gave birth to another baby girl when I was three, this one much healthier than I would ever hope to be. Adelia Rose Nolan, my little sister. They gave her away to a friend of my fathers, whose wife was unable to conceive, and the Ark was none the wiser. To the general public she was Adelia Woods, with no relation to me aside from being a close friend of the family.

It was hard on my parents. I mean they still had her, got to see her all the time, could raise and parent her behind closed doors. But the secrecy kept us all a little sick. Some days I wondered if my parents resented me for not dying when I was supposed to. I mean, I knew they loved me. But they had already accepted my fate, gone through the anguish and turmoil accompanied with losing a child, only to have it be in vain. Other days I wondered if they had just wished Adelia had been born first, instead of me.

Either way they showered her in affection, and I would have been jealous if it had been anyone other than her. But Adelia was my sunshine as much as she was my parents. She would sit next to me when breathing got too hard, holding my hand and taking deep breaths with me, her small voice chanting "in, and out" rhythmically.

I was the big sister, and yet she was always the one taking care of me. Rushing to get me my medicine, conjuring up extra pills when I had thought I had run out for the month, staying home from school whenever I got sick to help take care of me, which was more often than not since because of my condition I was more susceptible to colds and viruses. She did everything she could to keep me here with her.

My mother always made it clear that I was to do anything in my power to protect Adelia, no matter the cost. She would brush my hair away from my face and say, "One lung or not, you muster up all of the air you have inside and you unleash it, as fierce as a hurricane. Set fire to everything and build a home for yourself in the flames if it means protecting your sister. Be a hurricane and no one can ever hurt you, or the ones you love," and with a kiss on my forehead she'd send me off.

I never questioned her and I never argued, despite the fact that I wasn't sure if I had what it took to be a hurricane. But if that's what I needed to do to keep my sister safe, then I would. And I did.

My safety tended to be a bit of a different story though.

We are all born to die. Some are snuffed out like a candle, while others fight to burn like a forest fire. My name is Theia Nolan, and this is the tale of how I overcame death.

But death is unforgiving, and it doesn't like to be cheated. And it always wins in the end.

**A/N: Hey guys! It's been a while since I've posted anything and I want to first and foremost apologize. Life kind of swept me up in stress. I also want to apologize for not updating my other stories while starting yet another one, but I promise, they'll get there eventually. But I recently started and finished watching the 100 and I became such Bellamy Blake trash that I couldn't resist trying a Bellamy/OC story. Soooo here is the prologue. It's super short and just gets the basic ideas out there, but I'm hoping to have the first chapter up sometime very soon. So yeah. Let me know what you think. :]**

**-Briana**


	2. Breathe

**A/N: TRIGGER WARNING! This chapter features mentions of sexual assault/rape. It's not super detailed or anything, but it is mentioned so if you're uncomfortable with that, this is your head's up!**

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_They hurt my sister, and they paid the price._

_They had raped her. She was only twelve years old. She was still a baby and they had robbed her of every last bit of her innocence. _

_They got what they deserved. _

_Adelia stared up at me through frightened blue eyes, surveying the three dead bodies littered on the ground around us. _

_"Theia they'll float you," desperation tinged her voice and my own expression matched her uneasiness. My voice was strong though, and I couldn't waver. _Be a hurricane_. I took her by the shoulders, bending down so I was eye level with her, my blood soaked hands staining her shoulders. I winced a little at the sight of it, crimson against porcelain. _

_"I'm under eighteen. They won't float me. They'll arrest me and send me to the skybox." _

_"No! Let me go instead! I'm younger, I'll have more time!"_

_"No Adelia," I kept my gaze hard on hers, tightening my slippery grip on the knife in my hand. "This isn't something that can be fixed with a retrial. They'll float whoever they think did this. And I'm practically knocking on death's door anyway."_

_"No. No, this wasn't supposed to happen." She shook her head, looking down to stare at me feet._

_"Hey," I shook her shoulders, forcing her head up to look at me again. "You need to be strong for me, okay?" I soothed, my hands shaking as they patted down her dark hair. She nodded at me and I gave a small sigh of relief. "And don't let this happen again." I was stern with her, brandishing a finger in front of her face. "Stay away from Nigel. I won't be here to protect you again."_

_"But Nigel-"_

_"_Stay away from Nigel_. No one else dies, do you understand me Adelia?"_

_"Yes," she muttered, giving me a grumpy scowl. The normalcy of it all made me choke out a laugh, closing my eyes to soak up my last moments of freedom. She threw herself at me suddenly, wrapping her small arms around me and burying her face into my neck. "I love you Theia. You're the best big sister anyone could ask for."_

_"Sisters protect each other," I whispered, breathing in her scent and willing myself not to cry. _Be a hurricane_. "I love you too." I clung to her for what felt like eternity until the guards arrived, forcing us apart and locking my arms behind my back as they confiscated the knife. They handcuffed me, dragging me down the hallway as Adelia struggled against the guards holding her back._

_"I won't let them hurt you Theia!"_

_"Stay out of trouble!" I halted in my procession, spinning back around to face her. "I mean it," One guard pulled on my shoulder, attempting to pull me back. I resisted, shaking myself out of his grip. "Do you understand?"_

_She stared back at me with tight lips and tears in her eyes, cocking her head to the side. _

_"Do you understand?" I repeated more forcefully. She nodded just as the guard struck me with the shock baton, and I fell to the ground with a yelp. Another guard climbed on top of me, holding me to the ground as he growled warnings in my ear. I felt my chest constricting, and coughed out a few breaths, gasping to get the air I needed._

_"Get off of her, she can't breathe! She only has one lung, she can't breathe!" Adelia wailed, charging towards the guard before two more caught her arms, restraining her. _

_"What do you think you're doing?!" My mother pushed passed the line of guards, my father close on her heels. _

_"Your daughter is a murderer, you must be very proud," the guard on my back snarled, giving me a kick in my side. The tears finally spilled over my eyes as I looked up at my parents, seeing a mixture of disappointment, confusion, and worry._

_"I started a fire," I wheezed, nodding to my mother. I watched the look on her face morph into an understanding. She glanced over to the bodies, partially covered with a tarp on the floor a few yards away, before turning back to me tight lipped and nodding at me with consolidation._

_"Let it burn." She whispered, pulling Adelia into her side. "May we meet again baby."_

_I didn't get much praise or support from my parents, and I rarely got any sign of approval. My mother's words validated what I had done, what they had told me to do, and for once in my life I felt like I had made them proud. I sniffed, blinking to dry my eyes. I had done the right thing. This was not something to shed tears over. They taught me to be a hurricane, so a hurricane I became. For Adelia._

_"May we meet again." I stood up and marched down to the skybox with steel in my eyes and iron in my chest. _

The dropship lurched as we finally hit the ground, the lights flickering as the engines powered down. It was silent throughout the entire level for a moment, before it erupted into a chorus of excited yips and squeals. Everyone unbuckled themselves, making a mad dash to the door, but I stayed in my seat, tugging at the wristband on my right arm.

It was odd, being surrounded by so many people. I had been in solitary confinement for the last two years, interacting only with guards who came in to give me my meals. The first person I had seen out of a guard's uniform in that time had been Doctor Abby Griffin, my guardian angel of sorts, who had come to my cell a week prior with a surprise.

_"Theia?" the voice had been strange, but familiar. Definitely not that of any of the guards who normally brought me my meals. I paused in the knotting of my bed sheets, a habit I had picked up out of restlessness, turning to face the door._

_"Abby?" I breathed, utter confusion washing over me, soon replaced by a feeling of sheer glee. I threw myself at her, wrapping my arms around her neck. She gave a light laugh, hugging me back before I felt the sting of a shock baton in my side. I gave a harsh gasp, stumbling backwards onto the floor._

_"No touching," a guard appeared from behind Abby, his voice apathetic. _

_"She is fine, don't touch her with that!" Abby scolded, shooing the guard back. "Wait outside for me." The guard nodded stubbornly and I did my best not to look smug. It didn't work. As soon as he was out of sight I pushed myself up off the floor, dusting off my pants._

_"What are you doing here? How's Clarke?" My mind immediately rushed to my former best friend, Abby's daughter. The two of us had been incredibly close until my disappearance to the skybox. I presume she had heard what had happened, but I had no idea how it changed our friendship or how she thought of me. But in my eyes, Clarke was my unofficial sister, and I would have protected her just as much as I had protected my actual sister. _

_"Wait, is Clarke okay?" My mind jumped from possibility to possibility for the reason of Abby's visit. "Clarke is okay right? Abby please tell me Clarke is okay."_

_"Clarke is fine Theia, just breathe. Remember to breathe." Abby nodded to me, placing a strong pair of hands on my shoulders. I took a deep, shuddering breath and Abby gave me an apologetic smile. "I know, the air in the skybox isn't the best."_

_"It gets the job done," I shrugged, taking another breath to stop the light headedness I felt coming on. "Is it Wells then?" Clarke, Wells and I were like the three musketeers, always together. They helped me look after Adelia, and the four of us were like this little dysfunctional family. I missed it so much._

_"It's not Wells."_

_"Then who?" She gave me a grave look and I felt my heart drop to my feet. "Not Adelia. Abby tell me nothing has happened to Adelia."_

_"I'm fine, Theia." A small head of dark curls appeared behind Abby, her blue eyes identical to my own staring up at me._

_"Delia," I let my eyes fall shut as I allowed myself a sigh of relief, before Abby gave me a tight smile._

_"Listen Theia, I pulled a lot of strings to arrange this, but you only have a few minutes. Be quick, and make it count." She placed a hand on my shoulder, giving me a quick kiss on the forehead before leaving the cell and shutting the door behind her._

_I set my gaze on my sister, pulling her to me and enveloping her in a hug. "Look at you, you haven't grown an inch in two years." I ruffled her hair as she swatted at me, giving me one last squeeze before pulling away._

_"Well you have." She scrunched her nose up at me, before growing serious again._

_"What is it?"_

_"It's mom and dad." Her voice cracked, and she quickly cleared it, trying to mask the hurt in her voice. "They were floated."_

_The words rang through my ears, but I felt nothing but a cold numbness that had been growing in my chest for two years. _

_"What?" _

_"They got caught stealing me extra rations." She played with her hands, rubbing at them as if she could still feel the blood on them. "Look at the mess I've made." Her voice was devoid of emotion, much like my expression. In a moment I had watched her go from scared little girl who had just lost her parents, to hardened soldier who knew it was just better not to feel. Much like myself._

_"Hey," I took her by the hands, bending down to her level, like I always used to do. "You are a Nolan," I whispered, careful that no one outside would hear. "And you will survive. It's what we do." I nodded as she caught my gaze, steel on steel._

_As much as I wanted to tell her that it would all be okay, that she should let out the hurt, cry until she couldn't anymore, I couldn't bring myself to do it. Because maybe in a normal family that would have been the way to handle it. But not here, not with us. Adelia needed to be strong. She needed to not break. And this was how you kept yourself from breaking. _

_"Be a hurricane and no one can ever hurt you, or the ones you love." I echoed my mother's words, a mantra I had repeated to myself every day since she had recited them to me._

_I felt Adelia's hands relax in mine as she let out a small breath. And then:_

_"Theia they're sending you to the ground." I felt my heart stop, staring at her as if I had suddenly realized I had been dreaming this whole time. But I still felt the weight of her hands in mine, still felt the solidarity of the floor beneath my feet. _

_"What are you talking about." It was a question I didn't have the energy to form into one, needing an answer as quickly as she could muster one up._

_"I've been training under Abby," she whispered, getting the words out in one big rush of breath. "I overheard them talking about it. Abby's been making wristbands to transmit vital signs from the ground back to the Ark. They're sending all 100 of the teen delinquents. You included."_

_"What? But why? I don't understand. Are they trying to execute us?" I felt the panic rising in my chest, because no matter how prepared you are to die, it doesn't make it any less terrifying._

_"No, not necessarily. They think it's survivable down there again." Her voice grew exciting as she squeezed my hands, giving me an encouraging smile. "It's a trial run."_

_"But-" At that the door burst open and three guards flooded the room, pulling Adelia by the arm._

_"Okay, time's up."_

_"Wait, just one more minute!" I begged, reaching for my sister._

_"Against the wall prisoner!" One guard brandished the shock baton in front of my face, forcing me to back up against the wall._

_"It's okay. You'll get to breathe Theia!" She called over her shoulder as they shoved her through the door, following closely behind her and locking me back in my isolation._

_I'll get to breathe._

And yet, here I was. The last one in the dropship, a little too stunned to move. I was really there, on the ground. The whole way down everyone was talking about radiation poisoning and how we'd probably die before we even made it a few days. But I had been hearing things like that my entire life.

_She has three weeks to live, maybe a month. _

_She has five months left, but that's it._

_She'll be lucky if she lasts the year._

But I always did. I always survived. Even when I thought it would be easier if I didn't. I dared the ground to try and kill me. Space couldn't do the job and I only had one lung. I should have been easy pickings. But I was more than I seemed.

I unbuckled myself and made my way down to the lowest level, where the door was. It was already open, with kids frolicking in the bright light and greenery outside. I took a step to the door, and with one deep inhale, I crossed the threshold, feeling the cool breeze on my face.

It was better than anything I could have ever imagined. I felt my lung swell with relief and sweet oxygen, as much as I could fill it with. I couldn't have stopped the wide smile that spread across my face even if I had wanted too. I spun in a small circle as I walked further into the grass. _The grass._

I let a bubble of laughter escape my lips as I fell to my knees, rubbing my hands across the ground. The ground. I was on the ground. I looked up at the sky, a beautiful clear blue, much prettier than the dark black of space. Somewhere up there, my sister was waiting. Waiting for the clear that the Earth was survivable again, so she and the rest of the Ark could come down and join us. And since I had been pardoned for my crimes by coming down, we could finally be a family again.

I took another deep breath, loving how I could still laugh and breathe at the same time down here. I let out a howl, smiling when I wasn't completely out of breath afterwards. I sighed and jumped up and jumped a few more times just because I could, and I spun and spun and spun until my eyes landed on a blonde head, blue eyes boring into my own.

"Clarke," I felt her name roll off my tongue without even realizing I had said it, and before I knew it she was bounding over to me, throwing herself into my arms and knocking the breath out of me, but I couldn't have cared less.

"Theia, oh my god." She pulled away, staring at me with unconcealed joy. "You're really here. _We're_ really here." My smile stretched even wider, as she bit back her own grin. "So how's it feel?" She tapped on my chest, on the side where my one lung resided and I exhaled for emphasis.

"Watch and learn," I gave a small curtsy before breaking out into a run and jumping into a cartwheel, landing on my feet with nothing more than a head rush.

"Whoa careful, the last time you tried that you ended up hooked up to a ventilator for a week," Wells's voice came from behind me, and I spun on my heels, jumping up to give him a hug.

"The last time I tried that I had a deficient supply of oxygen. What are you doing here?!" I slapped his chest, backing up a little bit to turn back to Clarke. "What are either of you two doing here?!"

"We have a lot to catch up on," Clarke stated harshly, giving Wells a cold glare.

"Whoa okay, what happened Bonnie and Clyde? Pull a prank gone wrong and someone got the brunt of the blame?" I raised an eyebrow looking between the two of them.

"Not exactly," Clarke crossed her arms across her chest, locking her jaw in a way I knew meant she was ready to argue.

"Clarke…" Wells warned, taking a step towards her. She peeled her glare from him to turn to me, her expression hard.

"Wells got my father executed." I felt the blood rush to my head as my heart slowed down a beat. Jake Griffin had been as much of a father to me as my own had been, if not more. And he would never come down to join us with Abby and Adelia. He was gone. Like my own parents. Dead. Because of Wells. After everything that had happened to me, I no longer felt sad or hurt. Any sadness I had, I turned into anger. Anger was safer, easier to deal with than wallowing despair. Especially when you had someone to direct it at. I turned my head slowly towards Wells, narrowing my eyes at the anxiety written across his face.

"What." My voice was sharp and hard, one syllable packed with pure rage. Hurricane Theia was about to strike again. Three minutes on the ground and already things were falling apart.

And I had thought this would be the worst of life on the ground. Dealing with the rift between Clarke and Wells, and somehow figuring out a way to get past it, even to forgive him. I knew better than anyone that things weren't always as they appeared.

But this? This was just the beginning. I hadn't seen anything the ground had had to offer yet. And I most definitely hadn't seen Bellamy Blake.

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**A/N: Hi friendssss! A little bit more background on Theia and her life before the ground. I know this chapter was super short too, but I really just wanted to get it out there and published. Everyone's on the ground now though, so you know things are about to get interesting! ;] Thank you to every who's favorited and followed so far, and a very big thanks to xXbriannaXx, Lycan Queen, kaljara, BrittWitt16, heavylieshercrown, and ClarkeGriffin for your reviews! Keep letting me know what you guys think! Love youuu! x**

**-Briana**


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